


Oshichiya

by chronicAngel



Series: Leaves in the Summer [9]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Japanese Culture, Naming Ceremony, POV Third Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 04:13:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12225537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chronicAngel/pseuds/chronicAngel
Summary: It is her firstborn's seventh day in the world, and he watches everything with curious, steely grey eyes.





	Oshichiya

It is her firstborn's seventh day in the world, and he watches everything with curious, steely grey eyes. He is wrapped in a kimono of pure white silk as he squirms in his father's arms, and Fugaku makes a displeased face that Mikoto knows is only out of principle; when they are in the confines of their home, he doesn't bother to pretend he is anything but utterly amazed with their son. He will gush over everything that he does, telling Mikoto of how he is sure that he saw the boy smiling at him and sharing stories of how he nearly rolled over all on his own while she was in the bathroom (which is rather often since she was only a few months into her pregnancy).

Having a child is a wondrous adventure, and it is nothing like how she imagined it would be when she still felt his gentle kicks in her abdomen and dreamed of weasels staring into flames. He hardly ever cries, and many of her cousins have expressed their jealousy at this fact, dark bags decorating the skin under their eyes to emphasize their points as their own infants squirm and wail in their arms. Her son always watches his cousins in what Mikoto swears is amusement or gentle observation when this happens, and there is an awareness in this eyes that both worries her and makes her feel extreme pride. He also hardly ever eats, something which she has expressed much more concern over, and though her husband has assured her that he is sure this will pass, she can always hear the underlying worry in his tone. She knows that he is trying his best to be strong even in front of her; it is her opinion that caring is strength, but it is not her place to say as much.

Though privately, she and her husband have known what they were going to name their son since her fourth month of pregnancy, the rest of the clan knows him only as "Gomi," a name given to him during the last days of her pregnancy to ward off evil spirits. Mikoto is less traditional in her values than her husband and his parents, even her own parents and siblings, but she is happy to celebrate her son's oshichiya meimeishiki with her husband, parents, and in-laws. It helps that she is surrounded by food she has been craving.

The Uchiha clan typically celebrates family festivities at the Naka shrine, but she and Fugaku agreed on their son's third day of life that this should be a small ceremony held in their home. Besides, the baby doesn't like traveling very much anyway.

Her eyes keep drifting to the tai in the corner resting on a small table they have set up just for food to be placed upon, meaning that she occasionally has to snap her attention back to her son and husband as their parents make idle chatter with one another. She admits to herself, though not out loud, that she would be much happier if this were a more intimate moment, shared between even just the three of them. She can't help but think their son feels the same way as he tries to doze off against his father's shoulder, only startling himself awake when Mikoto takes him into her arms so Fugaku can begin the traditional writing of the baby's true name on the meimeisho. The others crane their necks to see his calligraphy over his shoulder.

She has always been envious of her husband's beautiful handwriting, a trait she supposes comes with knowing you will grow to be the head of a notoriously prestigious clan, but right now, she is happy to watch as little Itachi-- now officially named such-- turns his head curiously to watch what his father and grandparents are doing. He started lifting his head on his own very early, only four days old the first time they caught him doing it, and though he can't do it for very long, she has noticed he will turn his head to look at something he finds particularly interesting before resting his cheek against her chest or Fugaku's shoulder. Currently, it is the former, his eyes startlingly wide and so curious as Fugaku spreads the six kanji beautifully over the paper in black ink. 'うちはイタチ' -- Uchiha Itachi.

He proceeds to write more, the date and time of birth (水無月九日 22:14), impossibly neat. When he is finished, he leans back, observing his handiwork before giving a small approving nod and reaching for Itachi to take his footprint. Despite the creature he is named for, Itachi is a remarkably still child, and does nothing but watch in utter fascination as his father presses his foot into a small plate of red ink before pressing his small foot gently into the paper of the meimeisho. He repeats this process with his other foot and both of his hands (admittedly much more challenging as he prefers to keep his fingers scrunched up into fists).

"Uchiha Itachi, hm?"

Her father-in-law sounds thoughtful of the name after they move on from the meimeisho, sitting with the baby on the floor as her parents and in-laws surround them to give their infant gifts, shugibukuro in white packages with the Uchiha clan crest as a seal. "My little weasel." She hums in confirmation, pressing a kiss to Itachi's temple to emphasize the statement.

"Our." Fugaku corrects her quietly and politely, but she beams at him in appreciation; sometimes it is still so hard for her to believe that Itachi is really theirs. Half him. Half her. Their son. She simply nods and returns her attention to her father-in-law.

He hands the envelope directly to the baby; it's a nice gesture, but Mikoto immediately has to take it from him before he puts the corner of the paper in his mouth and dissolves it with his still-abundant saliva. Her mother-in-law gives her a sharp look and hands the envelope to Fugaku, her greying hair and scornful eyes disappearing into another room of their large home as fast as they arrived. Uchiha Yuko has never liked her, and she has never tried to force her into such, instead spending her time with her husband and her father-in-law, both of whom love her and appreciate her company much more than the bitter woman ever would.

She has never made her disdain for Fugaku's mother known. She thinks that he has noticed the general unpleasantness between his mother and his wife, but he is polite enough not to insult either of them with choosing a side and she supposes that is all she can ask of him. Privately, she supposes that she will have Itachi to choose her side in the future. Of course, she wants him to be close with his grandmother, but family is the most important thing in her world and she will not live in a world where her son is allowed to hate her. As though sensing her trouble, his pudgy hands reach up and grab at her face, either one resting on her cheeks and grabbing, not enough to hurt or even really pinch, but enough that she can feel the way her skin creases slightly and it makes her laugh. The moment her mouth has opened, though, he is sticking his hands there, and she lets out a very non-ladylike snort that reminds her of her present company as she feels Yuko's burning glare.

Fugaku leaves her sitting on the floor with the baby, something she is grateful for, to go get her food for her, but his father quickly takes the plate from him when he moves on from the tai after giving her a serving that is sized for a reasonable person; it makes her remember why she loves her father-in-law so much. He piles twice as much food as anyone else dares to take before offering her the plate, his eyes closed with a grin. She has found that generally, Uchiha men are stern, but Tsuneyoshi is very much like her in that he is likeable, with a warm personality. He lacks the typical fear of showing emotion, and she has seen him laugh until he couldn't breathe, cry like he was the sole source of water for the seas, and rage passionately enough to destroy buildings. She thinks this may be a part of the reason her husband is often so emotionally constipated, especially when they are around other people. He doesn't bother to hide the fact that he is embarrassed of his father, and she imagines that if she weren't fond of him, he wouldn't be invited to more intimate family gatherings at all; it is one of the signs that he really does care about her. She privately thinks she cares much more, though. After all, she would have to to put up with his mother as frequently as she often does, even going so far as to serve the woman tea with an unbearable smile on her face when she decides to stop in with no invitation. _Including the third night after her son's wedding,_ she thinks, face growing pink at the thought.

Though Itachi grabs at her food, she does not give him any. He is still too young and liable to choke, no matter how strong her husband insists the Uchiha are.


End file.
